We came to sing songs of good wishes

Kupalo songfolkComposerArranger

Mar 22

Written By andrew waller

Translated Text

Score Ukrainian

Score Transliterated

We came to sing songs of good wishes | Пришли сме ту щедраци | Pryshly sme tu shchedratsy

Arranger: Yaroslav Polianskyj | Ярослав Полянський

This New Year's song is from the Lemko region and conveys greetings of the season, asking for holiday treats. Lemkos are one of several ethnic Ukrainian sub-groups that inhabit the Carpathian Mountains of Western Ukraine. Their spoken language, which is uncodified, has been described as a unique regional dialect, almost a language in its own right. Ukrainian Christmas traditions reflect achievements of an ancient culture, impressive in the musical and contextual diversity of its songs and in the number of its carols and epiphany carols. There are two distinct groups of Ukrainian Christmas music. Koljadky (Ukrainian Christmas Carols) are sung in church alongside traditional liturgical texts and hymns from Christmas Eve (January 6, according to the Julian Calendar) to Epiphany (January 19). Shchedrivky (New Year’s songs), being much older and having pagan roots, are rarely sung in a liturgical setting, given their secular themes of bounty and prosperity. These delightful and festive new-year folk songs of felicitation, with their charming and rhythmic melodies, reflect sectarian life and express wishes for health, happiness and bountiful harvests.

Koljadky and shchedrivky are an important part of Vesnivka's repertoire and have been sung annually since the ensemble was established in 1965.